Hi! What a beautiful day it is today! There's not a single cloud in the sky so it's as blue as can be. Yes, it is a little warm, but in the air-conditioning it's not a bother. I do have some errands to run later and that will be a different story being outside in the sun. Did I mention I got some sun poisoning the last day we were in North Myrtle Beach? Oh yeah, not so fun times. That means I really have to be extra careful when I'm outside. Oh, speaking of our vacation, Heather and I spent a couple of rainy hours shopping. The Amish Country Store was a big hit because they had these homemade cookies there. Cookies like Molasses, Pumpkin Spice, Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, and a couple extra flavors that I don't remember. And they even let you taste-test them all!! Woo hoo! If we hadn't tasted them, I don't think we would have bought so many flavors to take back to the house with us. Oh, they were sooooo good! But on to other things, while we were shopping, Heather found me the cutest towel. I didn't even see it in the store, and I don't know how she bought it without my knowledge. But she did, and I've been meaning to share it with all of you.
What do you think? Perfect, right? Hope you can read it around all the crinkles and wrinkles. I just love it and it makes me smile every time I see it. Remember when we had Dazzling Diamonds glitter? I was forever wearing it no matter how careful I was. Ah, the memories!
Ok, time to get this show on the road and get to the card ideas. I need a birthday card soon, so it was off to the drawing board, or make that my stamping table for me. I decided to use the Beautiful Balloons set and dies to make this card. Because the recipient prefers pastels and pinks, I went with a palette of pinks and lavenders.
Here it is. Hope she likes it. I've got a tip or two to share with you about making this card, so hope you stay with me here.
To make the card I started with a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of Fresh Freesia cardstock. It's scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half.
Tip: for making this card technique, it's easier to make it a top fold instead of a side fold. Trust me on this, because I've done it both ways and this works better.
Next, the two layering pieces for the front were cut. For that I used a piece of the Bright & Beautiful 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper (page 129). This measured 3" x 4". I also needed a 2nd piece for the bottom of the card and chose to use another piece of Fresh Freesia cardstock. This measured 2" x 4". There is also a 1" strip of a coordinating print of the DSP that was cut at 1" x 6".
The Fresh Freesia layer was embossed with one of the Basic 3D Embossing Folders set that is an Online Exclusive item right now. I thought the bold dots were a good match for the DSP print that I chose. You can see I used Fresh Freesia ink and a Blending Brush to add a small amount of color to the raised dots. I used a very light touch to keep the ink only on the tops of the dots.
After embossing and coloring the dots, the two pieces were added to the card front with adhesive. You can see there is a small gap between the two when they're attached, but this will be covered with the 1" strip. When adding the strip, you can put it straight across the card if you prefer, but sometimes it's fun to change things up and put it on a diagonal. It's attached with 'green glue' making sure that all parts of the gap were covered. Trim off the excess overlapping the side edges with Paper Snips. Tip: it's much easier to trim on an open edge than try to trim on a fold!
Multiple balloons were stamped and these were chosen: a large balloon with Bubble Bath, medium balloons with Fresh Freesia and Highland Heather (off stamped), small balloons with Berry Burst. Both of the Berry Burst were off stamped - either once or twice otherwise the color was way too dark for the rest of them. All of them were die-cut with the matching dies.
The large balloon was stamped with a sentiment from the Beautiful Balloons set. It's stamped with Gray Granite ink. The balloons were arranged on the card front. Some were attached with adhesive, and some were popped up with a Dimensional.
Some white Baker's Twine Essentials was used to add some strings for the balloons. For one of them I used about 1 1/2" and tied a knot at the top. This was tucked under the single balloon. The others were done the same way, but all knotted together and tucked under the large balloon. Before tucking the strings under the balloons, I added a couple of glue dots to the knot area so it would stay where it was put.
The inside of the card was finished using the same colors to coordinate. The Basic White piece was cut at 5" x 3 3/4". The sentiment was stamped about 1 1/2" down from the top so there was plenty of room for the added balloons. Gray Granite was used for both the sentiment and later to add strings to the balloons.
Two of the small balloons were stamped with Bubble Bath ink and two with Fresh Freesia ink. To add a little contrast, the little confetti pieces were stamped with Highland Heather ink. That looked like a party to me.
Last look at the front of the card. After checking the finished card, I decided to add two extra things. It doesn't show up well in the pictures, but a crescent highlight was added to each balloon using some Crystal Effects. It has been retired for a while, but I still drag it out for a little added 'something' every now and then. The other addition is a sprinkling of Rhinestone Basic Jewels. I think they showed up the best of all the embellishments I tried.
Hope you like this card idea. Remember to follow the tips to make it easier on yourself. I can imagine this card in a multitude of different color combos. Use whatever your recipient might like the best! Now I've got to hustle to get this card in the mail before the mailman comes.
Don't forget that Bonus Days are here again!! For every $50 you spend, Stampin'Up! will give you a $5 coupon in your email that you can redeem on your order in August. (Don't lose these coupons, because there's no way to track down the correct code for you later!) Make sure you also check out the Online Exclusives too. There are some awesome products there. What a fun way to spend summer - shopping! LOL Take care and stay healthy and safe. Love you guys!!
Happy stamping and creating,
Sharon
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